[Cincinatus' Wife]

I've heard that too. Chavez is pinning the blame on the fired oil workers, his opposition, calling it sabotage. - Report

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Chavez Says No Deal on Fired Oil Strikers - Supreme Court disqualifies Electoral Council*** Opponents of Chavez accuse him of ruling like a dictator and of trying to install Cuba-style communism. They say he is waging a political vendetta against the PDVSA strikers. "Sacking 10,000 people smacks of revenge," Teodoro Petkoff, editor of the daily newspaper TalCual, wrote in an editorial. Chavez, who was first elected in 1998 and survived a brief coup last year, has called the oil strikers "terrorists" and demanded that they be jailed for what he called their "sabotage" of the oil industry.

The opposition called on the government Monday to choose between two options proposed by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who is assisting the talks. One option is for a constitutional amendment to shorten Chavez's rule and call early elections. The other is for a binding referendum on Chavez's rule on Aug. 19, midway through his current term which is due to last until early 2007. The government did not reject the options outright but did say it had no interest in shortening Chavez's term.

Maduro said that before any elections could be held, the country's National Assembly must first appoint a new electoral body to oversee such a poll. The existing National Electoral Council has been disqualified after the Supreme Court upheld a government complaint accusing it of political bias. To trigger a binding recall referendum on Chavez, the opposition needs the signatures of 20 percent of Venezuela's nearly 12 million voters. The government says this process will have to be carried out under the supervision of the new electoral authority, which, along with the Supreme Court, will also have to rule on whether the referendum can in fact be held on Aug 19.***